BARB launches The UK Television Landscape Report

BARB today announces the launch of The UK Television Landscape Report, a quarterly review of population trends and changes in how people can watch television.

BARB provides trusted and objective evidence on changes in the UK television marketplace. Our daily audience estimates are used as the basis for justifying £7bn that is invested each year in the production and distribution of programme and commercial content.

BARB also reports on the rate of change in how people can choose to watch television. This insight comes from the Establishment Survey, which is one of the largest, on-going research studies in the UK with over 53,000 individuals being interviewed each year.

The UK Television Landscape Report is a new quarterly publication that will explore the learnings available in the Establishment Survey. The first report features three articles.

• Is Netflix taking over? SVOD services are growing in popularity although it’s clear that these services are most likely to be found in homes that also have multi-channel subscription packages.
• What’s in a platform? Households increasingly have access to television through more than one platform, while penetration of the major platforms remains constant.
• Who doesn’t own a TV? Pre-family homes are the most likely to go without a TV, while non-TV households, as a whole, are less likely to own computer devices.

The report will also include a growing number of TV Landscape Trackers. The first ones to be launched look at the take-up rates for devices that can be used to watch television and the number of TV sets per household.

Martin Greenbank, Head of Advertising Research and Development, Channel 4 said: “Understanding audiences is about understanding people and the choices they make. The Establishment Survey offers a wealth of data that, for the most part, simply goes untapped, yet it provides hard evidence on the changing ways in which people can watch television. The Landscape Report brings the survey to life with sparkling clarity.”

Justin Sampson, Chief Executive, BARB said: “Television, as a cultural and commercial phenomenon, has remained a focus of interest and conversation for over 50 years. This is as true today as it has ever been, with advances in technology shaping the way broadcasters distribute their content and how viewers watch their favourite programmes. Our new quarterly report shines a light on how quickly people are adopting these new services and technologies”.

The UK Television Landscape Report Q4 2015 is now available to view on the BARB website and to download as a pdf. BARB’s customers have the option to interact with charts and graphs by logging into the website, which has recently been enhanced to support more effective viewing on tablet and mobile devices.

The UK Television Landscape Report complements The Viewing Report, which has been published annually by BARB since 2014. These reports, side-by-side, provide a rounded picture of how people can watch television and how they do. The Viewing Report 2016 will be published shortly.